American retail group Target is currently in the beta phase of its Target Ticket movie-streaming and download service, offering staff members and selected customers to become the first to try out the venture, which will compete with services such as Walmart-backed Vudu, Amazon and Netflix. The operation is looking to roll out commercially later in […]
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has confirmed that it is to acquire Singapore-based video streaming website Viki in a move that better places it to compete with online services such as Amazon’s LOVEFiLM and Netflix. The deal is reported to be worth $200 million. In recent times, Rakuten has been ramping up its content interests, acquiring […]
UK on-demand IPTV service YouView is launching a new advertising campaign which will focus on communicating catch up, on demand and record messages to consumers. The new advert, is set to run across all media including TV, print press, radio, digital and social media from Saturday 7 September, will centre on pairs of feet in […]
VHX, a direct-to-fan distribution platform for premium video, has announced a $3.2 million Series A financing round led by Union Square Ventures. Participating are existing investors Lerer Ventures, Lowercase Capital, Keith Calder, and Alexis Ohanian (Initialized), as well as new investors William Morris Endeavor, John Maloney (Terrapin Bale), and Gunderson Dittmer. Andy Weissman of Union […]
A new pay-TV service is set to become available on the UK’s DTT platform for Freeview HD viewers with the launch this autumn of VuTV. VuTV will air on Freeview channel 238 and allow subscribers to enjoy a range of premium channels from established brands. A+E Networks, Viacom International Media Networks and Turner Broadcasting are […]
Amazon’s LOVEFiLM has made a content deal with Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN). The new shows will allow members of LOVEFiLM Instant in the UK access to VIMN’s broadcast portfolio – which includes MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Chris Bird, Director of Content Strategy at LOVEFiLM, said: “We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of hundreds […]
New attitudes toward TV viewing have been identified in a new report from Ericsson ConsumerLab, the fourth annual report looking at consumer trends in the TV area. Among the new findings, 72 per cent of respondents say they use mobile devices to watch video at least weekly, and 42 per cent of them do so […]
Audiences are demanding “complex, smart stories” as they become accustomed to “bingeing” on box sets, according to actor Kevin Spacey. He told TV executives at the Edinburgh Television Festival: “The audience wants control. They want freedom… what they want, when they want it. If they want to binge then we should let them binge.” In […]
Analysis of UK TV viewing figures for the first half of 2013 shows how people’s TV diet is developing as on-demand TV viewing becomes a more established part of people’s lives. According to Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, total average daily TV viewing in the UK during January-June 2013 was […]
Online video service Netflix has reached 1.5 million paying subscribers in the UK. Exclusive series such as The House of Cards and Arrested Development, as well as bought-in TV shows including the hit Breaking Bad, have helped the US-based company increase its paying UK audience to between 1.5 million and two million, according to a […]